Baby killer Waneta Hoyt, 52, died on August 13, 1998, of pancreatic cancer at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York state, where she was serving a sentence of 75 years to life for smothering her five children from 1965 to 1971,.
After a doctor diagnosed Mrs. Hoyt with pancreatic cancer last year, her lawyer attempted to get her released from prison while she appealed her convictions. But New York does not allow medical parole for anyone convicted of murder, first-degree manslaughter or certain sex offenses. The lethal mom was found guilty in April 1995 of one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder for killing her children.
The children, who ranged in age from 48 days to 2 years, were initially thought to have died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. Mrs. Hoyt confessed in 1994 that she smothered her children to stop them from crying. She later recanted in court, saying state police tricked and coerced her into the admission.